“Congratulating the kufaar for the holiday of Christmas or other than it of their holidays is haraam based upon the consensus of the scholars, as has been quoted by Ibnul Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, in the book ‘Ahkaam Ahlil Dhimmah’,…it is as if he is congratulating him for his prostration to the cross…”

Ash-Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan, may Allah preserve him said:

“…The Christians innovated this birthday and other than it into their religion, while the Prophet Esaa, alayhi as-salaam, did not legislate for them to celebrate his birthday rather they just merely innovated it…”

A Reply to a Doubt

There are some who claim that if the Christians congratulate the Muslims for their Islamic celebrations then it is upon the Muslims to congratulate them back during their celebrations, which is totally wrong and incorrect because congratulating them upon that is actually congratulating them upon their falsehood, rather Islam calls to opposing the kufaar in that.

A Side Benefit:

Ash-Shaykh Yahya al-Hajooree, may Allah preserve him, said:

“For the Nasaara (i.e. the Christians) is their own calendar; called the christian calendar (i.e. the western calendar), they began the year upon the birthday of the Prophet Esaa, as they claim and they refer to it as the Christian year, while the Persians have their own calendar (i.e. the Jalaali Calendar) and the Roman have their own calendar (i.e. the Julian calendar)…”